Thistledown Foundation
Private foundation · Ottawa, Ontario · BN 769485533RR0001 · Foundations
Source: T3010 return, FPE 2024-12-31. Split of total expenditures ($1,517,610) as filed with the CRA.
Thistledown Foundation is a private foundation based in Ottawa, Ontario, classified by the CRA under foundations. In its fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, it reported $10.8M in revenue and $1.5M in expenditures.
Compared with 380 grantmaking charities of similar size, its share of spending on mission — charitable programs plus grants to other charities — ranked above 45% of peers. Its reserves, measured in years of spending on hand, sat in the top decile of the group.
As a grantmaker, it reported gifts to 5 qualified donees totalling $1.3M in 2024, the largest being $720K to The University of British Columbia. Revenue has declined over its filings on record here, from $105.1M in 2020 to $10.8M in 2024. Its filed list of directors and trustees shows 4 names.
In its own words
The foundation made donations to qualified donees during the year.
Ongoing-program description from its T3010 filing, verbatim.
The ledger, 2020–2024
| Year | Revenue | Spending | Programs | Fundraising | Gifts out | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $10.8M | $1.5M | — | — | $1.3M | $68.3M |
| 2023 | $7.4M | $6.1M | — | — | $5.9M | $59M |
| 2022 | -$6.3M | $6.4M | — | — | $6.1M | $57.7M |
| 2021 | $6.2M | $34.5M | — | — | $34.1M | $70.5M |
| 2020 | $105.1M | $6.3M | — | — | $6.2M | $98.7M |
Revenue printed in red where the year ran a deficit. Fiscal years by period end.
Money between charities, 2024
Granted $1.3M to 5 qualified donees:
- The University of British Columbia$720K
- Dalhousie University$490K
- United Counties of Leeds and Grenville$50K
- The Toronto Humane Society$25K
- Philanthropic Foundations Canada/fondations Philanthropiques Canada$11K
As reported on the donors’ own T3010 qualified-donee schedules.
Directors & trustees (2024)
Tobias Lutke (director); Bruce McKean (director); Fiona McKean (director); Dale Whiteside (director).
As listed on its 2024 return.
Check the source
Every figure on this page is from Thistledown Foundation’s own T3010 filings, published by the Canada Revenue Agency. Verify against the CRA’s charities listing (search BN 769485533RR0001), or read how we compute the receipt.